Police officers were assaulted upwards of 1,000 times during the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, the Department of Justice estimated in a new court filing detailing the voluminous evidence being scoured.
That number and others appear in a memorandum entered Wednesday in federal court in D.C., where the Justice Department has charged more than 550 defendants and counting over the rioting on Capitol Hill.
Federal prosecutor Emily A. Miller said the numerous assaults were captured by video cameras worn by officers in and around the Capitol building on Jan. 6.
“Based on a review of the body-worn-camera footage conducted by our Office, the footage displays approximately 1,000 events that may be characterized as assaults on federal officers,” she told the court.
The actual number of instances of assaults on police officers may likely be higher because not all wear body-worn cameras, and it was unclear whether the government was finished reviewing the footage.
Ms. Miller, who is leading evidence-gathering efforts in the riot cases for the Justice Department, explained in the 10-page memo that prosecutors are in possession of tremendous amounts of material.
In addition to footage from the body cameras, prosecutors also possess video captured by surveillance cameras at the Capitol, as well as evidence lawfully collected from phones and communications providers.
The government also possessed footage uploaded to the social media service Parler, Ms. Miller added. A security bug allowed terabytes of user data, including videos, to be leaked online later in January.
Other evidence gathered by the government include hundreds of thousands of investigative documents and unpublished news footage, among other material, Ms. Miller explained in the recent court memo.
The government is in the process of preparing and providing the material to defense lawyers representing the nearly 600 accused rioters currently facing related criminal charges in D.C. federal court.
As of late August, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. had uploaded “over 2,900 body-worn-camera videos totaling over 2,300 hours,” or nearly 100 days, to be accessed by defense lawyers, Ms. Miller wrote.
Riotous supporters of former President Trump stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 while members of Congress met inside to certify the Electoral College votes affirming his loss to his successor, President Biden.
More than 120 of the hundreds of the Capitol riot defendants face assault charges of some form or another, according to a running tally of cases available on the Justice Department website.
Approximately 140 police officers were injured at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Several rioters were injured as well, and one was shot and killed by police.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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